


Hallow

by MirjaH



Series: The Seer [1]
Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Angst, F/M, Relationship Problems, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-14 12:01:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16492211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MirjaH/pseuds/MirjaH
Summary: You've lived with Zen happily for some months now but close to his new musical's opening night on Halloween he starts to act suspiciously. Does he have a secret or are you just paranoid...?





	Hallow

**Author's Note:**

> This fanfic was my contribution to a Halloween Secret Pumpkin event on the Mystic Messenger Discord server I'm on. Every participant created either a piece of fanfic or fanart, and received one piece of their choice, too.
> 
> You can download the entire Secret Pumpkin 2018 event works compilation or see the individually posted works on Tumblr tagged as _#mysticpumpkin_ and at [the server's own blog ](https://mm-discord.tumblr.com/)  
>   
>   
>  If you enjoy my work, please consider [supporting me on Ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/M4M16CLK) or [commissioning me](https://mirjahcreative.tumblr.com/post/179794896921/mobile-commissions-info)!  
> 

* * *

    Your happiness couldn't possibly falter, that's just how balanced everything had been between you and him so far. At first, you had been a bit insecure about dating such a popular guy and you'd gone through your phase of some issues. What you had been totally unprepared for was the fervor with which Zen admonished you for thinking so little of yourself, once you had finally revealed your thoughts and concerns.

Just a short while into your dating, you had agreed to move in with him. Every day with your love now seemed like a dream. The two of you were so compatible in every way imaginable, able to talk about everything and anything - no matter how painful or embarrassing - and always made up soon after arguing.

    So why had the feeling gradually crept up on you that Zen was hiding something? You tried to push back the foreboding that made you uneasy. Ever since you remembered, you'd had premonitions of occurrences and adversities beforehand, but explained it away as coincidences. The thought of something supernatural was too much to accept for you, so you’d denied its existence. Even though your grandmother had told you about the "hidden world" touching the "visible world" around the time of year that was now celebrated as Halloween. You'd scared to death when she had told you that the peculiar things you'd seen and heard by the age of 5 were in fact real. The small and fragile old woman, who had died soon after that, had allegedly been a seer from whom lots and lots of people claimed to had gotten insight - or so you'd learned long afterward, as an adult.

    You were waiting for the actor to come home after his final rehearsal, it was only a few days to the opening night of his new musical on Halloween. Zen was supposed to have arrived already and you were giddy, having decorated for the festivities to surprise him. And were planning to maybe scare him, wanting to relax your love for the show. You were a bit surprised - and a lot disappointed - when Zen called you, telling you that something had come up and he had to stay behind to go through stuff with the director. He told you to eat and get to bed without him, since it may be the wee hours of the night before he'd be able to get home.

    “Come on, that never happens with the final rehearsal,” you said to yourself with a grit of your teeth some hours later. If there was something to fix or make final adjustments to, it would've been taken care of long before the final rehearsal ended. You had worked as Zen's manager for some months now and seen the makings of enough plays to know just how these productions were done. You knew that what your boyfriend had told you was not the truth. It had always amazed you just how crappy a liar Zen was - him being an actor, for crying out loud. So you had always known when he wasn't honest with you.

    Why now? What could he have possibly been really up to? You were so confused and pissed off, and out of spite for Zen, you decided to just grab a pack of Honey Buddha Chips and a can of Ph.D. Pepper for dinner, no matter how your conscience screamed at you for that. Knowing you’d look swollen and less-than radiant in the morning, you crawled to bed with your little picnic and played some bittersweet otome, planning to wait up for the man to return.

    At 3:24 am your eyes shot open. You were sure you had awoken to some weird, spine-chilling, scraping noises nearby. When you got your bearings, you found yourself lying on your side - the bag of chips in your arms along with the empty soda can. Every time you took a breath, the bag would scrape against the aluminum can - making the horrible noise you'd heard. With a relieved chuckle you shook your head. “Great! I’m actually hugging a bag of freaking chips instead of my boyfriend!”

    The cringe-worthy taste in your mouth was as delightful as you’d imagine if a rat had died and halfway rot in there while you slept. That was the price you had to pay for munching the chips with their extraordinary but delicious combination of honey and butter. A sip of water and brushing of teeth - not in that order - would probably help, so you dragged your behind to the bathroom and then the kitchen. While retrieving a bottle of water from the fridge you heard the front door click open.

    Zen sighed to himself, trying to sneak in as quietly as possible. He felt horrible lying to you, but there was no helping it. Some things had to remain a secret, no matter how cruel that seemed. Setting his biker jacket aside, a surprised noise escaped his throat as the lights in the hall suddenly flashed on - blinding and startling the man for a moment. He was flustered to find you standing there a hot mess: you hair all mussed, eyes puffy, and skin a tired shade of pale - and still so cute.

    “Hey, babe! Why are you up? And what’s with the puffy eyes? Didn’t you sleep?” Zen’s brows furrowed slightly as his concern for your well-being shone through in his whole demeanor. He looked you over before stepping toward you smiling, his arms open wide and ready to embrace you. But you backed away from him, folding your arms with a scowl on your face.  
“How do you think I could sleep when you are God knows where in the middle of the night? I was worried, you know.” Your searched his face and without an answer, your gaze plummeted to inspect the rug beneath his feet, instead.

    Zen prayed that he could just come out and say what was going on. But that was too dangerous. Just the fact that you were with him this time of year was a stretch.  
“Babe, I told you,” he said, scratching the back of his head. “Why are you like this? It’s not like it’s the first time I come home at this hour after rehearsal," the love of your life said - and felt like crying.  
You took a deep breath and lifted your face again. "Do you really think I don't know your pattern by now?! Do NOT lie to me, Hyun. You know much you suck at it!”

    His real name entered the conversation, as it tended to whenever your feelings took over. Just, he preferred to hear it in a totally different emotional context. The gorgeous crimson gaze avoided yours. This was incredibly uncharacteristic from the hard-working, beautiful, tenacious, adorkable, loving man you shared your life with. You had a lump in your throat, the bitterness and hurt condensing to prickling behind your eyes.  
“Jagi, I don’t mean to lie to you! I just can’t… Please, just…”  
“Just WHAT!?”  
"Just trust me MC, please! I love you, and I would never do anything to hurt you. You know that right?"  
"You think so? Well, you just hurt me!!!" 

    You knew that if he saw you cry, you wouldn't be able to resist him running to hold you. Turning on your heel, you stormed off, slammed the bedroom door shut behind you, and threw yourself on the bed. The hurt rained down your face, your soul sizzling with rage. This acidic feeling in your gut was a sure warning sign that something awful was about to transpire.

    The actor was left reeling in the hall, frozen in place and wondering how to fix this. He knew for sure that you wouldn't listen nor believe him now. The only thing he could do was to wait and hope that your anger would subside soon. Zen had a knot in his stomach as his attempts to calm you down had had the opposite effect. Silently he cursed his secret weighing down on him. Sighing deep he almost regretted asking you to live with him. He had balanced his life all this time, made a career in showbiz, and had friends from years back, too. But this was the first time the man was faced with such an imminent risk of being found out. And more than that, he dreaded what might happen to you should he ever lose control.

    “Get a grip, woman!”, you said to yourself. “It’s not like back then! You just need to calm down, sleep a bit more and talk it through with him.” Some previous premonitions and them materializing floated to your mind uninvited and you had to really push to try and make them go away, still failing miserably. You fell into a restless sleep full of nightmares with past tragedies you'd seen beforehand, strange beasts with horrifying features closing in, a frightened girl - no, a woman - cowering in a corner, and then… emptiness.

    You woke up anxious, well after your usual time thanks to not having set the alarm on. Going about your morning routine, you were amazed that you'd actually slept that long. Even though you couldn't quite remember them anymore, the weird dreams had left a nervous feeling in the pit of your stomach. The antsy worry you'd felt waiting for Zen to come home and the rage that had bubbled up when you'd left him standing in the hall had both subsided. Now you were just irritated that he didn’t tell you what was going on. You figured that he, too, must have been tired - staying up so late after the long streak of rehearsals and with the stress of the upcoming premiére.

    You decided to be an adult and be cool about this. After picking the dress you knew Zen liked best on you, you went to greet him with a genuine smile. Seeing that he had slept on the couch but was no longer there, your smile wavered. If it wasn't for the opening week, he would've been practicing at the mirror this time of day. He never did that the couple days before opening night, though, he would always just chill out with you and relax. Your gut feeling kept distracting you as your eyes landed on a note on the breakfast bar counter, letting you know the actor had gone out to grab some groceries. The end of the hand-written note made your lips pull into a small smirk.

 

> **_Look forward to our late lunch and the pumpkin carving!  
>  _ _xxx_**

Your heart skipped a beat, despite the lingering certainty that Zen was covering up something he didn't want to talk about.

    The silver-haired hunk returned soon with shopping bags almost bursting with groceries - including two big pumpkins. You found the amount of food supplies baffling, because the man really didn't tend to eat much the days prior to opening nights. He greeted you with a dazzlingly bright smile and after setting the bags on the kitchen counter, closed in on you slowly. For some reason, the way he moved reminded you of a predator measuring the distance and assessing if it was a good time to approach the prey. You shook your head at that silly thought, and flew into his arms - his smile contagious and lighting up your face, too.

    You apologized to Zen for being bitchy the night before, after you’d first hugged him long and good. Explaining how excited you had been to see his face when he’d notice the Halloween decorations you had spread in place, and how the disappointment with sleepiness had made you irritable, you were ashamed of your harsh behavior. Kissing the top of your head the tall sweetheart held you to his chest and apologized back for making you worry. That made you feel almost completely safe and content. You took in his fresh scent, no more cigarette stench since he'd managed to quit a while back. Now there was an outdoorsy, almost forest-y smell on him that you found pleasant. Holding him chased away the thought of 'almost safe' that had cast a shadow on your face for a split-second.

    “Well, let’s talk about it later, ok? I’m hungry like a wolf, so I really wanna see what you brought!” you said, already digging into the shopping bags with a wide grin.  
“Sorry to tell you, cutie-wolf, but there’s sushi on the menu today!”  
That trademark wink he threw you while starting to unpack the second bag still managed to make your knees weak. You recovered soon, though, and returned with a quip of your own with a smirk. “Thank you for bringing us the food, my perfect sushi hunter~!” 

    You were proud of yourself when he went quiet. He stared at you frozen mid-unpacking and blushed adorably, an ever-surprising reaction to your praises.  
“Zen, hun, what is it~?”  
“You’ve never called me... that,” he said, voice dipping lower with a thrilling rumble to it.  
“What, hunter~~?”  
"Don't tease me, jagi, the beast might awaken..." 

    The gleam in Zen’s smiling ruby eyes appeared somehow more intense than usual. As you turned to place the food items in the fridge giggling, you failed to see them briefly narrow into blood-red slits fixed on your form. His handsome face pulled into a beastly snarl, and his tongue darted over his sharp canine. You swirled around again, and his light-hearted smile greeted you once more.

    Sitting across him at the table, you decided to not bring up again just yet the reason for your boyfriend’s late arrival, and he seemed to think alike. You two just chatted about nothing in particular. He shared with you how the rehearsal had been, and you told him about your plans for the week after the opening night. Enjoying the relaxed meal, Zen watched you closely as you selected your favorite pieces with such devotion. It always made him chuckle, the way you almost religiously picked the perfect sushi piece with your chopsticks and carefully dipped it in the soy sauce with wasabi in it before neatly bringing it to your lips.

    You felt more than saw his red orbs tracking your motions as you wiped the rice and soy sauce traces from the corner of your mouth with your finger. Setting down his chopsticks, the albino took a sip of his beer, his sparkly eyes fixed on yours. The speed with which he scooted to you - pulling you to your feet and enveloping you in his arms - surprised you. You hadn't predicted that nor what he did next: Zen cupped your soft cheek and quickly licked the few grains of rice from your chin. You giggled, feeling heat rise to your face, pressing your hand on his chest. Your boyfriend snaked his other arm around you, too, and kissed your lips softly.

    Wrapping your arms around him in turn, you melted into his embrace and kissed him back for a moment. Zen deepened the kiss, starting to nip and pull on your lower lip. As he squeezed you tighter in his arms, a low rumbling noise rose from deep in his chest. Wanting to continue your lunch, though, you reached for his silvery ponytail with mischief in mind and gave it a gentle, playful yank. Instead of the man letting you go, you suddenly felt a sharp pain on your mouth as his teeth pierced your sensitive skin. The high-pitched yelp that escaped you made him flinch back. As your hand flew to your bleeding lip - your eyes wide with surprise - your gaze landed on Zen to ask why he did that.

Except, you were now faced with someone… no, someTHING else…

    You stumbled backward, ending up with your back against the wall and reflexively squeezing your eyes shut. Rubbing on them briefly, you were certain that you were actually asleep - since what you had seen couldn't possibly be real. Your cracked your eyelids wearily open before rapidly blinking.  
Your breath hitched and you started to tremble as you took in the cowering form before you. In the afternoon sunshine, that poured into the room from the window right next to you, two pointed, white, wolf-like ears moved on its head covered in silvery-white, silky looking fur. Huge, sharp canines glistened below the crimson eyes you recognized. 

    The panting, quietly whimpering being licked its lips in a nervous manner, its eyes full of emotion. _Grief? Fear?_ The clothes Zen had worn now adorned the human-resembling, but wolf-like creature. You could only come to the conclusion that it had to be him.  
Nothing made sense to you at that moment. Something incomprehensible had occurred in your home - shaking the very core of your life. Unintentionally you had been holding your breath, and as your vision started to go dim - the last thought in your mind was the wish to tell Zen how much you loved him.

    You woke up feeling incredibly tired and heavy. It was dark outside. A headache that split your skull the moment you tried to get up made you lament aloud. It took you a moment to grasp where you were, as the room was in the dark. The only light was coming from out on the streets. Wondering briefly why you had been sleeping on your living room floor, you scanned the dim view for your boyfriend in vain. You were alone in the apartment; you could feel it.

    You scampered on your feet and held your head. After fumbling to find your phone, you staggered for a while before ending up on the sofa. Sunken into the corner of it, you were still weirdly shaken by your dream. The one in which Zen bit your lip and turned into an actual wolf in front of your eyes. Chuckling to yourself, you dialed his number, imagining how he would laugh when you’d tell him that. To think his figure of speech about all men being wolves had manifested in your dreams in such a way!

    He answered after just one dial tone, almost as if he'd been expecting your call. The man greeted you as usual - only his voice was somewhat strained. You told Zen in your usual, carefree tone, how you had just woken up and had something funny to tell him.  
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes to really listen to your voice, to burn it into his memory. After you were done explaining your dream to him and wondering about your headache, he let out a sound that resembled a sniff. You figured he was a bit chilly being outside, and asked when he’d be back.

    Clenching his jaw Zen forced out what needed to be said: "I'm sorry, MC, I didn't mean to hurt you. I had sworn never to do that, but I did, and now I can't risk being around you."  
You sat up straighter, cocking your head with the phone on your ear. Confused, you brought your hand to your mouth in shock and felt the stinging on your lip when a fresh trickle of blood formed on it. Right, where you thought the wolfman in your dream had bit you.  
"Wait, what? No..."  
"I love you, MC, truly. And I won't forgive myself if you got in any more danger because of me.”  
“Hyun, what are you…?”

    His whole body shook and he just barely managed to hold the phone in his hand. After pinching the bridge of his nose with a heavy sigh he continued. “The apartment is now in your name, jagi, and I've made a press release set to be published tonight. Zen the musical actor will quit and disappear," he said, voice growing smaller and weaker - until it finally broke down at the end.  
“This is goodbye, MC.”

    Zen’s desperate cries echoed from the ancient landscape, turning to a wail - and finally howling - only after he had ended the call and tossed his phone somewhere down the vertical drop of hundreds of meters. The man fell to his knees next to his bike up in the mountains, his heart shattered. He found the little comfort he could in knowing that this pain was nothing compared to the alternative: He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he'd harm you in his beast form. 

    You were left staring at your phone, incredulous and broken. Zen had said goodbye. Zen had left.  
Not only you but the job he loved and had worked so hard to succeed in. His friends, his life. Over what? A bleeding lip? Your stomach churned. This couldn't be.  
What was he saying? That what you saw... that he was, in fact, a wolf?! That you would never see him again?!?!? 

    Beast or not, the very idea of never seeing him again hit you like a ton of bricks. At that moment - with hot tears flooding your face - your long late-grandmother's words rang in your ears.  
_"There are so many things people don't see or know about. So many things you have seen, but already you are conditioned to believe they can't be true. You, my dear granddaughter, are a seer and with that comes a burden. I can only pray that your path would be easier to tread, MC, but the future I see for you holds great danger, great responsibility, great mystery, great love and happiness, and great tragedy. For that time remember this: not all men are wolves, and even those rare ones that are, may not be bad. It is up to you if you become the tamer or the prey. The worst tragedy is to not fight for your happiness."_

 

* * *

_November 2018 © MirjaH_


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